The Image Isn’t Loading but I Swear to God if It’s That Realistic Cat Smurf Again

Submission 6,597

Part of a series on Smurf Cat / Шайлушай. [View Related Entries]

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About

The Image Isn’t Loading but I Swear to God if It’s That Realistic Cat Smurf Again, also known as The Video Isn't Loading but I Swear to God if It's That Smurf Cat Again, refers to a spam comment and phrasal template based on a comment left on a Smurf Cat photo slideshow on TikTok in late August 2023. A screenshot of the comment went viral, including a response reading, "Youre not gonna believe this." Thereafter, users on TikTok and elsewhere started to use variations of the phrase in comment sections, inserting different meme references.

Origin

Prior to 2023, message screenshots with similar phrasal templates and subjects surfaced online. The earliest known was an Instagram DM screenshot posted by X^[11] user @sumDAMF on July 2nd, 2021, showing a message reading, "It's not loading but I swear if it's the blacksons" (shown below, left). The tweet received roughly 5,700 likes in two years. On January 26th, 2022, X^[12] user @double_upload posted a Discord screenshot that centered on the Strawberry Elephant. The message read, "Gabe if I refresh discord and it's strawberry elephant I'm going back to sleep" (shown below, right). The tweet received roughly 58,500 likes in one year.

On August 28th, 2023, TikToker^[1] @ghojam1 (the creator of the Шайлушай meme) posted a photo slideshow of Шайлушай memes. On August 30th, TikToker^[2] @memesfortheboiz_ commented, "It’s not loading but I swear if it’s those blue mushroom things with russian writing," gaining over 150 likes in 15 days (shown below, left). On August 30th, 2023, TikToker^[3] @narezkiarri posted a similar photo slideshow. On August 31st, TikToker^[4] @hailey4nneykw left a comment on the slideshow reading, "the image isn't loading but i swear to god if it's that realistic cat smurf again," gaining roughly 17,600 likes in two weeks (shown below, right).

Despite being the second known comment, TikToker^[4] @hailey4nneykw's comment predominantly started the later meme, aided by a September 1st, 2023, screenshot shared by iFunnier^[5] @quackdealer, additionally including a separate reply reading, "Youre not gonna believe this." The iFunny post received roughly 17,700 smiles in 13 days (shown below).

Spread

Continuing into September 2023, variations of the comment spread across Smurf Cat videos on the app. For instance, On September 5th, 2023, a comment reading, "It’s not loading but I swear If it’s a edit about the damn blue cat," was left on a September 4th TikTok,^[6] gaining over 370 likes in nine days (shown below, left). On September 7th, 2023, a comment posted on a September 6th TikTok^[7] read, "video hasnt loaded yet but i swear if its that blue smurf cat again ima lose it," gaining roughly 7,300 likes in one week (shown below, right).

The comments only became more viral, elaborate and meta going into September 2023. Video content on the app also started to reference the catchphrase, often written in the video's description or text overlay. For instance, on September 4th, 2023, TikToker^[8] @vexbolts posted a video in which he sang "We Live. We Love. We Lie," and had text overlay reading, "Image not loading but it's probably funny," gaining roughly 1.6 million plays and 227,500 likes in 10 days (shown below).

During the same timeframe, reposts of iFunnier^[3] @quackdealer's screenshot also gained virality on platforms like Instagram.^[9] The phrase's usage in comment sections ultimately extended to the other Smurf Cat-related trends like Strawberry Elephant and Pineapple Owl, among other food-animal hybrids.^[10]